Sitting Cong MLA Kuvarji Halpati joins BJP

Ahmedabad: Dissidence within opposition Congress continued unabated as sitting MLA from Bardoli Kuvarji Halpati on Tuesday crossed over to BJP, along with 200 party workers, at a public rally addressed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Surat district.
"Along with Halpati, Gujarat Youth Congress general secretary Nilesh Luhar, Surat district Congress vice-president Manojbhai Patel, district Congress secretary Prabhubhai Patel and 200 party workers today left Congress party and joined BJP at the chief minister`s rally at Mandvi," Convener of BJP Media Cell Jagdish Bhavsar said.

Surat district BJP general secretary Bharatsinh Parmar welcomed them to the party fold.

In 2007 Assembly elections, Kuvarji Halpati had defeated Pravinbhai Rathod of BJP by 4,791 votes on a Congress ticket from Bardoli, then a ST seat.

Post delimitation, Bardoli became a SC seat and Halpati demanded a ticket from the party to contest from Gandevi (ST) assembly constituency in Navsari district.

However, Congress fielded Bhartiben Patel from Gandevi which irked Halpati as she had lost the last polls from Chikhli (ST) seat by more than 2,200 votes and he resigned from the party post two days ago and joined the saffron party today.